Congress leader Harish Rawat has been called to Delhi by party high command once again as the party faces problems in more states. Notably, Rawat has been serving as a key mediator in Punjab affairs for the Congress Party and in-charge of the election campaign committee for Uttarakhand. Rawat has been travelling between Delhi and Punjab several times in the past few months due to the major turn of events in the poll-bound state.
Reports suggest that Rawat was unable to attend the second phase of Parivartan Yatra in Uttarakhand that begun on September 17 as he had to rush to the national capital. In the last polls, Rawat had contested from the Haridwar Rural seat and lost the election. On the contrary, overall performance was better in Haridwar compared to the rest of the state in 2017 as it was the only district where Congress managed to win three seats.
While talking to Times of India, Udit Ghildiyal, a political analyst, said, “First the absence of Rawat will hurt the Congress, and secondly things going out of hand in Punjab also raises a question over his leadership skills, and it will be a key factor in the election campaign.” Jay Singh Rawat, the political analyst, said it was a surprise that Rawat was made in-charge of Punjab elections as both Uttarakhand and Punjab would go for polling at the same time.
Jay Singh said, “While Rawat is an undeclared CM face of the Congress in Uttarakhand, he is also handling the affairs in Punjab. When elections of both states are scheduled at the same time, the decision to make him in-charge of Punjab comes as a surprise. He has been busy shuttling between Delhi and Punjab.”
Suryakant Dhasmana, Congress state vice president, Uttarakhand, said being a senior leader, Rawat’s presence in Uttarakhand in the next few months is important. He further added that despite the busy schedule, Rawat has been holding online meetings to connect to the local leaders and workers.
It is noteworthy that on September 21, Harish Rawat had hinted that he might pull out his name from the CM race in the 2022 state elections in Uttarakhand. As Congress has selected a Dalit Sikh as CM in Punjab, Rawat had said he would want to see a Dalit becoming CM of Uttarakhand. He said, “History has been made in Punjab as Congress leadership under party national president Sonia Gandhi, a son of Dalit has been appointed the CM. I want to pray to the almighty to let me witness a Dalit becoming the CM of Uttarakhand in my lifetime.”
Crisis in Chhattisgarh
It was reported on Thursday that Congress is facing problems in Chhattisgarh as well. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has dispatched around 15 MLAs to Delhi, who is loyal to him. Reports suggest that he might send more MLAs to mobilize support in his favour. The MLAs have sought meeting with Congress high command as well as in-charge PL Punia.
The unexpected turns of events of Punjab
Punjab politics have become a political theatre of absurdity. First, Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from his post of Chief Minister. Then amidst a lot of speculations over the name for the new CM, Charanjit Singh Channi was appointed as the new chief minister. Later, Navjot Singh Sidhu also tendered his resignation from the post of party president in the state. Former CM Singh has met HM Shah and NSA Doval on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively fanning the speculations that he might join BJP. However, he rejected the theories but said he would not stay in Congress.
